


I am to see to it that they do not lose you

by emkathmah



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Ezra and Sabine deserve to be angry, Garazeb Orrelios will do anything to keep his family safe, Kallus has self-esteem issues, Rescue Mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29321046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emkathmah/pseuds/emkathmah
Summary: Garazeb is left behind on a mission gone wrong. Kallus gets involved with a hasty rescue mission.
Kudos: 20





	I am to see to it that they do not lose you

Zeb knows he’s hurt badly. He limps around the corner and presses his back against the wall for a moment, hissing and he takes the weight off of his injured leg. 

He knows that in his current state, he’s not going to make it back to the Ghost before the Imps catch up to him; he also knows that when they  _ do _ catch up, he won’t be able to fight them. He knows that if the other Spectres find out, they’ll risk their own necks to try and save him. He knows that none of them would be able to take his weight and move fast enough to escape.

Honestly, he was trying to come to terms with the idea that he would be captured on what should have been a simple recon mission. Rex had given them a list of old Clone Wars era military bases that could have medical supplies or weapons stores abandoned after the end of the war. Apparently, the Rebellion’s desperation was predictable enough that the Empire had sent troops of their own to some of these bases. This one, in particular, was crawling with stormtroopers. 

Zeb’s comm came to life with a crackle that seemed far louder than it should be, considering his desperate attempt to hide. He clapped a clawed hand over the speaker, muffling the concerned voice that it emitted.

“Spectre Four? Zeb? Come in Zeb! We need to leave like, five minutes ago! Where the kriff are you?” Ezra’s strained attempt at humor was betrayed by the obvious concern in his voice, reminiscent of the time they’d been ambushed over Geonosis. 

Zeb’s ears turned back guiltily. He knew Ezra would kick himself once he realized his lie. Kid always took the weight of their failures personally.

“Spectre Six, I’m going dark for now. Get off this rock, I can’t make it to the Ghost with all these bucketheads in the way. Get outta here, I’ll find a place to wait ‘em out and contact you when I need a pickup!”

“Copy that Spectre Four,” Hera’s voice was tight. “We’ll be back, and you’d better be there when we do!”

Zeb closed his eyes and swallowed tightly. He could picture her clearly, readying the Ghost for flight with a speed only she was capable of, could imagine the resignation she must feel as surely as he did. The kids might not realize it yet, but Hera and Kanan must know as well as he did that there was no way he could hide for long. They were leaving him to be captured and likely a swift execution. The Empire didn’t have much patience for surviving Lasats, and even injured he was seen as too much of a threat to stay along. Lasats rarely make it to Imperial prisons.

“Copy that, Spectre Two. Stay safe. See you on the other side.” He only wished he could say a proper goodbye. But if Ezra and Sabine figured out what he was asking them to do, they’d never leave him behind. Karabast, he missed them already.

  * \-  -



If the smoke trailing off of the Ghost wasn’t clue enough as they came to landing on Yavin 4, the attitudes of Ezra and Sabine were beyond enough to notify the base that something had gone wrong. Sabine stormed down the ramp first, her angry eyes filled with tears. Ezra and Hera followed with Kanan’s arms around their shoulders, his head hanging limply.

A medical team on standby near the entrance to the nearest temple rushed forward helping the two of them lay Kanan on a stretcher so he could get to the med bay. Rex and Kallus quickened their pace towards the ship, breaking into a jog as they saw the medics rush past them.

As soon as their burden was relieved, Ezra had run after Sabine, the two of them headed for the edge of the tropical forest with dark eyes that dissuaded questions of any sort. As Rex and Kallus reached Hera, the two teens had vanished into the trees. Hera’s shoulders slumped and her head fell into her hands, her legs buckling into a seated position on a stack of crates. 

Rex approached her as Kallus stopped where he was, feeling his blood start to go cold and his limbs become heavy with the dawning understanding of who was missing from the scene. Rex knelt in front of Hera and placed a soft hand on her shoulder, asking in a gentle but urgent tone - 

“Captain Syndulla? Hera? What happened?”

Hera dragged her hands down her face, clasping them in front of her mouth as she looked the clone in the eyes for a moment. After a heartbeat of terrible quiet, Kallus almost couldn’t hear her answer. Almost.

“I think we lost Zeb.”

  
  
  


On the way to the med bay, to wait by Kanan’s bedside, Hera explained what had happened with surprising clarity. Her voice was like cold stone, calmly relaying the catastrophic failure of their recon mission, but her eyes told the story of their grief.

The Empire had been waiting, hiding in the back of the shadowy base as they tried to get the power back on to search the facility. The Spectres had split up in order to find the control room, Kanan and Ezra searching one side of the base while Zeb and Sabine took the other, and Hera and Chopper stayed on the Ghost for a quick getaway, as they so often needed to. As soon as Sabine turned on the power, the stormtroopers had attacked. Zeb and Sabine were split up when he drew the attention of a large group so she could make a getway, Kanan had been shot in the back as he was getting on the Ghost. And Zeb…

Hera sniffed, running a hand across wet eyes as the tears started to fall. “He’d do anything to keep the kids safe. He used the code phrase that he, Kanan, and I came up with in case we needed to be left behind. ‘See you on the other side.’ He didn’t expect to make it out.” Her voice sounded strangled. “I had to leave him! Kanan’s injured, and he knew he wouldn’t make it. He wanted the kids to be safe,” she repeated in a whisper. 

Kallus felt like he was made of ice. Felt colder than he ever did on Bahryn. Zeb was the entire reason he was  _ here _ , was the reason he was alive at all after the attack on Atollon.

The Lasat’s protective nature had encompassed him as soon as he stumbled out of the escape pod, bruised and bleeding and barely able to stand. He’d vouched for his fighting and intelligence abilities, defended him as a changed man, helped him earn the trust of Rebel leaders. Kallus still didn’t quite understand why, but recognized that Zeb’s sense of honor directed most of his actions. It wasn’t hard to believe that he’d sacrifice himself for the other Spectres.

As much as he wanted to insist on a return trip, on an attempt to save the being that had saved his own life, Kallus swallowed his insistence. Indebted as he felt to Zeb, Hera was like his family; what right did he have to insist that she return to the scene only to find him captured or worse? Kallus knew as well as Zeb, after his research, that Lasat usually didn’t make it to Imperial prisons. Such actions were part of the reason he ended up leaving the Empire’s service.

Rex held fewer reservations; he asked Hera in a low voice if she thought a rescue mission was in order. As Kallus suspected, Hera shook her head slowly, her shoulders starting to shake.

“I’m so sorry,” her voice was shaking, “but there was nowhere he could hide long enough to stay undiscovered. I wish with all of my heart that it wasn’t the case, but he’s gone.” Hera’s voice cracked on the last word, and she dissolved into wordless grief. Rex wrapped an arm around her quaking frame, and Kallus backed out of the room.

After all of the pain and anxiety he had caused the crew of the Ghost, he didn’t deserve to be privy to their grief. He moved towards the cafeteria almost in a trance, obtaining a black cup of hot caf and sitting down at a small corner table with a solid thump. He wrapped his hands around the hot cup in a feeble attempt to regain feeling as his extremities turned numb.

His emotions were… complicated to say the least. He focused his eyes on the table as he took a sip of his caf, burning his tongue as he tried to come to grips. He was sure he felt grief, but there was a thick layer of guilt wrapped around the cold, heavy center of it in his chest. Was he even  _ allowed _ to grieve for Zeb, a being he had caused an endless amount of suffering? Had his own actions not eventually led to this loss? After all, a crew of his own leading had laid a similar trap with almost the same consequence. Guilt twisted his stomach as he realized that if an Imperial ship had landed on Bahryn first, it would have been him laying out the fate Zeb certainly faced now. What right did he have to grieve a being he hardly knew, someone he had actively worked to hurt? 

Kallus was broken out of his trance by the quiet motion of two people sitting across the table from him. He straightened his posture to meet the hardened eyes of Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren. There was furious determination on their faces that ran a small chill down his spine.

It was Sabine that spoke first, her voice as steely as her beskar armor. “We’re going back for Zeb. You’re coming with us.”

Kallus couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, even as he felt his heartbeat quicken.  _ Good. Someone else wants to, even if - _ “Are you prepared for the fact that he may well be dead already?” he had to ask. If they were going through with this, they needed to be ready for such a likely outcome.

“Even if he is, his body should be buried by us!” Where Sabine’s voice had been cold, Ezra’s was angry and laced with fire. The boy leaned across the table, looking Kallus in the eye with scorching resolve. “Even if he is, you  _ owe  _ him, Kallus. We’re taking the Phantom, at nightfall.”

- - -

The plan was straightforward, if nothing else. None of them were thinking clearly enough to care about the probability of success. Kallus, Ezra, and Sabine would split up and look for Zeb. Whoever found him first would alert the others, they’d grab Zeb (or whatever was left of him), drag him back to the Phantom, and hightail it back to Yavin.

So it was that Sabine found him first, and Kallus’ breath caught in his throat at her excited whispers that  _ He’s alive, he’s alive! _

They rendezvoused outside the room Sabine had found him in and ironed out a few details. Ezra and Sabine would draw the most attention which left Kallus to be the rescuer, much to their chagrin. Sabine lifted her helmet to her brow to glare at him.

“If you do  _ anything _ to endanger him -” she growled, and Kallus held up his hands placatingly, regret twisting his insides painfully.

“I know, I know, I want him back just as much as you do,” he whispered.

Ezra cracked his knuckles with his thumbs and smiled with malevolent mischief in his eyes. 

‘“Enough talk, let’s crack open some bucketheads and get outta here!” His hand moved to the hilt of his lightsaber as he nodded at Sabine. “Open her up.”

With a final warning glare at Kallus, Sabine slipped her helmet back over her face and began working on the control panel for the doors.

As the doors began to open, Kallus realized this was his first time fighting alongside the Spectre crew in the field. It was just as unpredictable as it had been when he was on the other side.

Ezra and Sabine stepped around the edge of the doorway at almost the same time, Ezra igniting his lightsaber as Sabine unclipped what looked like a thermal detonator from her belt and tossed it up only to catch it again casually and whistle for the guards attention.

“Hey boys! Looking for some extra action?”

“Come on guys, how hard could it be to capture a couple kids and earn yourselves some extra glory for the Empire?” Ezra called, his eyes flashing dangerously. Kallus heard a subdued growl among the shouts from the stormtroopers and his eyes widened as Sabine launched her explosive into the room.

Before he could cry out in protest,  _ An explosive?! You KNOW Zeb is still in there!  _ there was a loud bang and vibrant orange smoke billowed out of the enclosed space. Sabine drew her blasters and cocked her head towards the haze as Ezra deflected a few blaster shots back into the haze, snickering arrogantly. There were a few grunts and cries from the troopers in the room as Sabine fired a few shots of her own and cried out “Come and get us, bucketheads!”

Kallus noted the tilt of Sabine’s helmet as a sign to infiltrate the smoked out room as the guards ran out, following the two teens as they careened around the corner, diverting energy bolts and shooting as they went. Kallus pulled up the short scarf wrapped around his neck to cover his mouth and nose, then slipped silently into the mist.

_ Dark shadows in the smoke, three of them. Two standing upright, one mass on the ground. That will be Garazeb. So, only two guards. _

Kallus moved on silent feet that belied his strength and mass, creeping towards the nearest guard and flexing his hands around his blaster. 

_ You’ll only get one chance. There are gaps in their armor, use them effectively. Can’t afford to let them get back up, move to kill. Close enough to grab? Yes, it seems so. Make your move - NOW! _

In one smooth motion, Kallus wrapped one arm around the chest of the nearest trooper and shot him in the back of the neck with the blaster in his opposite hand. The other guard jerked at the sudden flash of light, turning around in a panic. Dropping the body of the first guard, Kallus dove across the prone form of Zeb and tackled the midsection of the second guard. Upon impact with the floor, Kallus quickly settled the nose of his blaster under the chin of the stormtrooper’s helmet and fired.

_ Never stood a chance.  _ Kallus couldn’t help that dark sense of pride at such an efficient encounter. The ISB certainly trained their agents well.

“...S’bine? Ezra? No…” Zeb sounded  _ scared _ , and Kallus felt his heart break for the Lasat. Everything he’d done was to keep them safe, and they threw themselves right back in after him.

Kallus knelt gently next to him, wrapping large arms around his shoulders as he helped Zeb to a crouching position. He felt bad leaving his hands bound, but for the moment they’d help him hold on.

“They’ll be waiting for us,” Kallus murmured sympathetically, “We brought the Phantom.”

Zeb’s ears turned back, and with his face so close Kallus could see his expression even through the orange smog. His eyes were barely open -  _ sedated _ ,  _ keep him docile _ \- and his brow furrowed intensely.

“Phantom? No, no I told ‘em t’ go!” he slurred insistently, as Kallus gave a grunt of effort and hauled him to his feet.

“Well, they came back,” he gritted through his teeth, gasping as Zeb’s deadweight threatened to topple them over. “ _ Ah! _ Can- can you walk at all?”

“Nngh, they got m’leg,” Zeb groaned, but some of the pressure alleviated nonetheless and Kallus sighed.

“S’okay,” he grunted, starting for the door, “Even what you’re doing helps. Let’s get you out of here.”

Zeb’s lips twitched, revealing the very tips of his fangs in dozy amusement. “He, s’just like- just like the ice moon, ‘xcept now it’s your turn. You do the heavy lifting, ‘n I get rescued.”

Despite their circumstances, Kallus felt a small smile grace his lips and small warmth bloom in his chest at the Lasat’s drowsy comments.

“Yes, I suppose it is like Bahryn,” he mused, half to himself. “I figured I still owed you for saving my skin.”

Zeb huffed, a small, pained laugh, and the way his breath ghosted across Kallus’ neck made his hair stand on end.

Slowly, they made their way back towards the landing pad where the Phantom waited. Infuriatingly slowly.  _ Too _ slowly. Kallus heard the shouts of stormtroopers and the sound of blaster-fire rapidly approaching, the pounding of feet and the hum of a lightsaber. The Phantom was in sight, they were halfway across the docking room, when Ezra, Sabine, and the Imperial troops stormed into the room.

Stars, they weren’t going to make it.

With a grunt, Kallus heaved both of them to the side, falling to land behind a stack of crates. Not a moment later, red bolts flew directly overhead as the troopers noticed the sudden movement, With a curse, Kallus slipped Zeb’s arms from around his neck. Arranging his hands away from the rest of his body, he shot point-blank through the cuffs and shoved his second blaster into Zeb’s hands. Kallus looked at the Lasat evenly, speaking as clearly as he could over the fire flying overhead.

“Zeb - look at me - Zeb,  _ only  _ shoot if you can do so without injuring yourself. Your safety comes first, but I admit I could use your help.” Zeb’s green eyes blinked at him slowly, and they seemed clearer. Had they always been so fixating? Kallus forced himself to focus. “Do you understand?”

Zeb gave a short nod and a grunt of affirmation, then propped himself into a slouching position against the crates rubbing at his eyes with one hand.

“Be shootin’ in a minute,” he growled, shaking his head like a lothcat trying to shake off water.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Kallus said with a grim smile, then positioned himself to start firing back.

As promised, after a few minutes Zeb joined him, peering around the edge of the crates to aim at the troopers gaining on Sabine and Ezra. They had followed Kallus’ lead and ducked behind a crate of their own, occasionally popping out their head to let off shots of their own.

They were incredibly outnumbered. Kallus could see their escape window disappearing, narrowing every second the Imperial troops were able to wait for backup. A desperate plan started forming, and he entertained the thought that he really must be a rebel to consider such a suicidal plan.

He was wrenched from his thoughts as Zeb howled angrily, flung awkwardly sideways as a shot caught his exposed shoulder. Kallus saw Ezra and Sabine look over in panic, and he lifted the comm to his lips and spoke urgently as they made eye contact.

“You need to get to the Phantom. I’m going to run out from behind this crate and move to the one forwards and to the right, wait for my signal and we’ll move at the same time. I’ll draw their fire, you come to Orrelios.” He saw them both nod in understanding, brows furrowed. “We’ll repeat until you can reach the ship, then I want you to get out of here.”

A grunt of protest from where Zeb lay. Kallus glared at him, and when he received no answer from the teens he demanded again-

“When you reach the ship,  _ you will leave. _ Is that clear?” A glance towards the young Jedi and Mandalorian found them nod their assent.

“Kallus, you can’t-” Kallus leaned over to where Zeb propped himself on his good arm and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t get to derail this plan,” he said sternly. “I know what I’m doing, we came here to get you out and I’ll be damned if I let us fail just to save my own skin.”

Zeb blinked, his large green eyes full of surprise and Kallus’ intensity. He found himself wishing he had more time. More time to know this being who had saved him from everything he was, who had seen everything he could be, who had believed in him enough to create this change. His throat tightened, as did his grip on the Lasat’s broad shoulder.

“I am to see to it that your family does not lose you, Garazeb,” Kallus said fiercely, and Zeb’s ears twitched minutely but he stayed silent. “I am determined to get you home. This is the way I can do that.”

Kallus tore his eyes away before he could hesitate any longer. He lifted the comm to his lips, and warned Sabine and Ezra to watch for his move.

_ Breathe in. Out. GO. _

And they did. Like a game of chess, move by move, Kallus moved further and further from the Phantom, distracting the guards with rapid fire as the Spectres made their way to escape. Finally, he heard the engines on the Phantom ignite, and a satisfied smile graced his lips.

_ Tell Garazeb Orrelios, we’re even. _ He’d once said to Sabine Wren. Now, he thought, he could rest easy knowing that it was true. 

Kallus moved to stand one last time, ready to draw fire, when he heard the Phantom spin around to face the interior of the base. Before he could process this deviation from the plan, the ship fired along the enemy line in front of him and he had the duck.

“Kallus, come ON we’re LEAVING!” Kallus turned in shock to see the rear hatch of the Phantom open, with Ezra and Sabine both standing with one hand outstretched, the other grasping the frame of the ship. 

With a roll of his eyes, Ezra made a summoning motion and Kallus felt himself stumble forward, where the two of them could each grab a shoulder and haul him inside. 

As Kallus tumbled in messily, Sabine released him to rush to the pilot’s seat. With a roar from the engine, they blasted through the open hatch and into space. A few lever switches later and the stars stretched into lines and Ezra let out a whoop. 

Kallus raised himself to his feet slowly, just in time for Sabine to hurtle past him again and crash into Zeb for a massive hug. 

Garazeb grunted and let out a pained chuckle as Ezra joined her, wrapping his arms around his middle. Kallus felt himself smile and tear up at the sight, and maneuvered himself towards the pilot’s seat to give the reunited siblings some privacy. 

As he slumped into the co-captain’s chair, he felt a twinge of anxiety. He never expected to survive this mission - he didn’t know what to expect next. 

A large clawed hand landed on his shoulder, making him startle. He looked over his shoulder to see Zeb’s serious face. 

“I’m to see to it that I don’t lose you either, Kal. You’re stuck with us, for better or for worse.” 

Unable to respond with words, Kallus swallowed and gave him a wary smile. Zeb returned the sentiment with a crooked flash of his fangs. 

_ Maybe - just maybe - surviving this rescue won’t be so scary with you.  _


End file.
